In a move marking the end of an era and suggesting continuing upheaval at the world's largest cruise company, Carnival Corp. announced that Micky Arison, the son of company founder Ted Arison, is being replaced as CEO.
Arison, 63, had held the post since 1979, and will continue as chairman of the board. Arnold W. Donald, who has served on the company's board for the past 12 years, will assume the CEO title.
The news came on the same day that Carnival announced second quarter profits of $41 million, due largely to lower fuel and administrative costs. However, despite deep discounting, passenger traffic remains low, particularly on the flagship Carnival line.
The development follows a string of bad news for Carnival.
Earlier this year, an engine room fire knocked out the Carnival Triumph's main power, leaving the 2,758-passenger ship dead in the Gulf of Mexico. Passengers described horrible conditions as the ship was towed to Mobile, Ala., and Arison, who owns the Miami Heat basketball team, was criticized for attending a game while the crisis was ongoing.
The following month, the company ended a voyage of the Carnival Dream early after the ship's backup emergency diesel generator failed. Carnival was forced to charter airplanes to fly the ship's 4,300 passengers back to Florida from the Caribbean island of St. Maarten.
And all this came after the sinking last year of the Carnival-owned Costa Concordia. The incident, which killed 32 people, dominated global headlines for weeks.
Continue Reading
No comments:
Post a Comment